DC CHAPTER - HUMAN SHIELDS FREEP OF TIM ROBBINS AT NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

The DC Chapter of Free Republic learned through an anonymous source that Tim Robbins (actor, anti-war activist, significant other of Susan Sarandon) would be the guest speaker at a National Press Club luncheon on April 15, 2003. Accordingly, a few of us made plans to meet and greet Mr. Robbins when he arrived at the building to present his speech.

I stepped out of my taxi a few minutes before Noon. The sidewalk outside the Press Club building was full of activity. There were people out enjoying the Spring weather, many going into the building, several cameramen waiting patiently, delivery trucks unloading supplies and a black SUV and a black limousine parked out front with several security types (earpieces with wires disappearing into their collars) standing nearby.

I wondered if this security was for Tim Robbins' benefit, but one of the security people told me later that they had someone inside the Press Club from DOD.

I was soon joined by meowmeow and her husband. I brought lots of signs and let them pick what they wanted. The signs were as follows:

One with a picture of Susan Sarandon and another picture of Tim Robbins with the caption: CAREER QUAGMIRE!

A picture of that wonderful cartoon that came out after 9-11 with the ticked off eagle sitting on a stool while filing his claws: WIN - WITHOUT - WEASELS (each word on a different line)

IRAQI FREEDOM - 25,000,000 - NO THANKS TO NOT IN OUR NAME (Susan, Tim, etc.)

Kristinn arrived last and went inside the building to drop off some handouts and let the press know we were outside.

Some of the cameramen came by to film our signs; one of them was from MSNBC. A guy on a bicycle rode past on the sidewalk and said something to the effect that we looked like "donkeys" (he didn't use that word) and we received a few scowls; but most of the reaction from passersby was positive.

A reporter from the Washington Times stopped to interview us. She mentioned that she had been with us all day on January 18, 2003 -- that very cold 9 degree day when we held Patriots Rally for America III and then met the anti-war marchers as they walked past the Marine Barracks. She interviewed all three of us and then left to attend the speech as another reporter stopped to tape an interview.

One of the undercover security guys stopped to ask if we would move away from the door when the person they were protecting exited the building. We identified our group and assured him we'd be cooperative. He then told us that we missed seeing Tim Robbins as he snuck in a back entrance through the garage behind us. It was certainly no surprise to hear this since it is the MO of Bill, Hillary and Tommy Daschle (cowards all).

We spied none other than Mark Shields of CNN "Capital Gang" fame walking toward our position. We could see the frown on his face and his lips moving as he read our signs on his way inside to attend the luncheon and speech.

The security guy finally asked us to move and pointed out where we should stand. I asked him who he was protecting and he relented and told me it was Colin Powell, our Secretary of State. All of us were thrilled and we had a clear view of Secretary Powell as he left the building.

I held up my sign, waved and shouted to Mr. Powell. "We're the DC Chapter of Free Republic. You're our hero -- one of our heroes -- we support our troops!" Colin Powell turned toward us, put his hand on his chest, smiled and waved before he got into the waiting limousine.

Kristinn made it back outside after all the excitement was over. We talked to people passing by and one of the security guards for the building came out. By this time, meowmeow and her husband had to leave, so Kristinn and I were giving it ten more minutes.

The security guard joked with us. He said he could wrestle us to the ground if we wanted to get some media attention. We laughed, but passed on his suggestion.

Here's a treat for you and the peanut gallery, such as it is, still left in this thread. From CNSnews.com:

'Human Shields' Protect Reporters from Pacifist Actor
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
April 16, 2003

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - "We're here to protect you," members of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Free Republic told reporters gathered to cover an anti-war speech by self-proclaimed pacifist and actor Tim Robbins.

"We're here to demonstrate against Tim Robbins and act as human shields for reporters in case they ask a question that Tim Robbins doesn't like and he threatens to harm them like he did Lloyd Grove of the Washington Post ," said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group.

Grove wrote about Robbins' "life-partner," Susan Sarandon or, more accurately, about the fact that Sarandon's 79-year-old mother, Lenora Tomalin, is a die-hard conservative Republican who supports the war in Iraq and President Bush. During the interview, Tomalin volunteered that she believed Sarandon and Robbins had "politically brainwashed" their son, Jack Henry.

That did not sit well with Robbins.

"My 13-year-old boy, who has done nothing to anybody, has been embarrassed and humiliated by a sadistic creep who writes, or rather, scratches, his column with his fingers in the dirt," Robbins said Tuesday.

Grove reported on March 25 that he had a post-Tomalin encounter with Robbins, at a party following the Academy Awards.

"As for Robbins, we said hello to him in a crush of partygoers that included his life partner, Susan Sarandon," wrote Grove, who refers to himself in the plural in his column.

After a brief but apparently pleasant conversation, Robbins apparently recognized Grove as the author of the Tomalin report.

"You wanted to be divisive and you caused trouble in my family," Grove quoted Robbins as saying. "If you ever write about my family again, I will [expletive deleted] find you and [expletive deleted] hurt you."

Robbins did not deny the threat when asked about it Tuesday at the National Press Club.

"I'd rather not talk about the specifics of it," he said. "When someone introduces something nasty you try to just not talk about it anymore."

The actor-activist attempted to portray Grove's quoting of Sarandon's mother as an attack on his son.

"I personally think that we should lay off the children," he said. "It's not their choice that their parents are saying what they are saying. They shouldn't be vilified in the press. It's just nasty, it's not nice."

D.C. Free Republic's Taylor noted that the comment involved Sarandon's mother giving a negative assessment of the couple's parenting, not Grove "vilifying" Robbins' son.

Taylor told CNSNews.com that his group hoped their services as human shields for reporters would not be seriously needed. But they wanted to point out, "the hypocrisy of the Hollywood elite who are on the one hand demonstrating for peace yet they have a lot of violence in their hearts, as evidenced by Tim Robbins."

Robbins' complaints about an alleged backlash against those who opposed the war also seemed hypocritical to Taylor.

"People like Susan Sarandon were supporters of and participants in the 'Stop Dr. Laura' campaign to get Dr. Laura's [Schlessinger] TV show taken off the air when Paramount was syndicating it," Taylor said. "Fair play for all?"

Given the opportunity to deliver a message to Robbins, Taylor joked that he would say simply, "Please don't hit me."

Several questions were submitted by reporters to the host of the event, who read heavily edited versions of the questions to Robbins. The actor responded to each of the edited questions verbally, without any actual or threatened physical violence.

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